App We Go: Paint, Dots and Food!

Looking for some games to play on your device during a ten-minute break?
Here is OPC's quick list:

Epic Paint Kuyi Mobile iOS • ANDROID  For those who like to group colors.

Two Dots Betaworks One iOS • ANDROID  For those who like to connect the dots.

Yes Chef! Halfbrick Studios iOS • ANDROID  For those who like to gather ingredients.

Six Essential Flappy Bird Tips

I'm a Flappy Bird silver medalist. I've spent some time playing, but unlike other games that get easier once you get through its learning curve, this game is just frustratingly difficult to have a consistent high score. It takes a lot more than your normal gaming skills to master it. Here though are six tips, however contradicting some may be, to help you play this game that's currently talk of the town:

1. Play on your own device. This guarantees that should you throw your device in frustration, friendships will be intact as you won't hurt the owner's feelings by your actions.
2. Do NOT play on your own device. This will make you think twice about throwing the device in frustration, as it is not yours in the first place. This will make you have more control with your emotions.
3. Play on an inexpensive device. This should give you peace of mind, that should you throw the device in frustration, it won't hurt your pocket too much.
4. Play on an expensive device. Use a brand's current flagship phone to play, so that you'd stop yourself from throwing the device. You won't want to destroy something that cost you a lot when you bought it.
5. Play when you wake up. Play not just until you're frustrated, but keep playing until you run out of frustration. This way, nothing else can get you frustrated anymore - and that means the rest of your day will be great!
6. Let your friends play it too. Share the fun, share the frustration. Plus, it consoles you a bit when you watch your friends also get frustrated like you!

With this game, you must be very careful as there is no room for error. One wrong tap and the game is over. Don't worry though, no real birds are harmed when that happens, and you can always try again. Flappy Bird is available for free on Android and iOS devices. 

Game Review: Hill Climb Racing

Hill Climb Racing is an iOS and Android game by Fingersoft that lets you drive a vehicle through a series of terrains. The objectives are to not run out of gas, to keep the driver alive and to go as far as possible. Don't expect an actual race in this game though as there is none, but there is definitely lots of hill-climbing.

In this game, you only get two controls: Brake and Gas. That means driving might be quite easy to learn, although doing it skillfully could take a while. You pick up coins along the way which you can use to upgrade your vehicle, unlock stages and purchase other vehicles. The game looks like it follows the law of physics well, and I commend them for that. The gas indicator is a different story though. It seems like it primarily functions as a timer rather than actual gasoline consumption. And while I'm not really a fan of the graphics (the coins' appearance and font could be much improved), it is acceptable and shouldn't be a showstopper of some sort.

My Fave Family Computer Sports Games

When I was a kid, the Nintendo Family Computer was the popular video game console. I spent hours and hours playing, and it certainly was one of the ways I enjoyed my childhood. Here were (and still are) my favorite sports games on this cartridge-based game system:

Double Dribble

I’ve been a basketball fan since I was a little child, so naturally, this became one of my must-play games. I continuously practiced until I’ve mastered shooting on the sure-shot spots, applying very good defense and winning every match against the Level III computer opponent. The only thing I wasn’t able to be very good at is my free-throw shooting.

Beach Rally

A few months ago, I blogged about Snake Xenzia. This time, I’m featuring another game on the Nokia X1-01, Beach Rally. It is a race-type game that actually reminds me of Road Fighter from the Nintendo Entertainment System (actually, I knew it as the Family Computer when I was a kid). You control a red sports car and try to go as far as possible.

Along the way, you’ll be able to pick up some power ups in the form of lightnings which boost your car’s speed for a short period of time, and flags which add five seconds to the game clock.

There are other cars in the course, but I consider these as just obstacles since the game is not really about getting to the finish line ahead and being ahead in the ranking. So you plainly have to overtake them and no longer worry about them catching up with you.

When you get to a checkpoint, more time will be added to your clock and the game goes on. But once you run out of time, then it’s game over for you! Your final score will then be assessed, with your final total multiplied depending on the level you have chosen (Easy is times one, Medium is times 1.5, and Hard times two).

The farthest I’ve gone: 4 checkpoints and a final score of 7926 on the hard level. Now I gotta play some more and master this game. If I do, I might just see “Superman” flying by. Just like Road Fighter, right?

Snake Xenzia

Snake Xenzia is a built-in game featured on the Nokia X1-01. It is basically a colored refresh of the 3310's monochrome Snake II, which I enjoyed playing some years ago. This further reminds me of the 5110 and 3210's Snake where we've already deviced a strategy to achieve the maximum score of 2008.

Snake Xenzia has eight levels (unlike its predecessors, which have nine) and three game types:

• classic,
• modern - choose from five mazes available: box, tunnel, mill, rails, and apartment (six if you count the "no maze" option which is just the same as classic), and
• campaign - where you advance to the next maze after your snake eats a certain amount of food (not really new to me, I've seen this one on the Snake EX2).

What's missing though is the 2-button control (at times, I would have preferred to press only the 1 and 9, or 3 and 7 buttons respectively, like I used to before) instead of using 2-4-6-8. Anyway, I've been playing with the classic game type and my highest score so far is at 4784. Now, I'm wishfully thinking I could play some Space Impact and Bantumi on this phone, too!

Finger Frenzy

How fast can you type the English alphabet? Find out by taking this simple Finger Frenzy test. My personal best is at 3.269 seconds. Can you beat it?

Update (2011.9.01): I have beaten my previous best finish and now my fastest time is at 2.313 seconds. It seems the key is to type really quick carelessly. This way, you sacrifice accuracy and will have to try many times, but if you get it right, then you'll be rewarded with a super speedy score.